In automotive vehicles, it is common to provide a parking brake assembly associated with each of the rear wheels wherein the assembly includes a brake backing plate, a pair of brake shoes pivoted to the backing plate and operated by a brake piston and a brake lever pivoted to one brake shoe then operatively connected by the strand through a conduit to a remote parking brake actuator. Due to the difficulty of assembling the cable when a brake drum is in place, it has been the practice to connect the cable before the brake drum is placed in position. The conduit of the cable is connected to the backing plate and the inner member, such as a flexible strand, is engaged with the braking lever by engaging an enlargement on the end of the strand on a hook on the braking lever. Inasmuch as the cable is relatively long for extending to the brake actuator, it is then necessary to wrap the cable about the associated axle on which the brake assembly is mounted and then unwrap the cable at the ultimate destination where the axle is assembled to the vehicle. Such a wrapping and unwrapping can damage the cable or possibly cause injury to a worker as the cable uncoils from its wrapped position.
Among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a parking brake assembly wherein the cable can be connected after the parking brake assembly including the brake drum is placed in position on the automotive vehicle; which does not require the worker assembling the vehicle to be able to see the interior of the brake assembly; which is relatively inexpensive; and which can be effectively and easily connected to the cable after the brake assembly is assembled to the vehicle.
In accordance with the invention, the parking brake assembly comprises a pair of brake shoes pivotally mounted on a backing plate, a brake operating lever pivoted to the brake shoe and operable by a remote cable for pivoting the brake shoes against a brake drum, and a coil spring provided under compression between the brake lever and the backing plate. During shipment of the parking brake assembly, it is attached to an axle and the coil spring has an end that extends to an opening in the back plate. The cable including a conduit and an inner member, preferably a flexible strand, is handled separately. After the parking brake assembly is attached to an automotive vehicle, the cable can be connected even though the brake drum is in place and prevents seeing the interior of the brake assembly. Specifically, the strand is then forced through the conduit and the coil. The brake lever includes a bracket defining a ramp that guides an enlargement on the end of the strand until the enlargement extends beyond the band and then snaps laterally behind the bracket to provide engagement between the strand and the bracket and in turn the brake lever. The conduit of the cable which surrounds the strand is then connected to the backing plate by a connector on the conduit.